Diet Coke girl to launch first wine-tasting car boot fair

A former model is launching the capital’s first-ever wine car boot fair in a bid to encourage Londoners to support independent retailers.

At the sale, on Sunday at a car park at Netil Market, London Fields, visitors can sample different vintages selected by local traders and sold from the backs of their vehicles.

Ruth Spivey, who came up with the idea, hopes it will encourage people to try new wines without feeling intimidated, at the same time as supporting local businesses.

Miss Spivey, 32, from London Fields, had a long career in modelling — walking at fashion shows for brands such as Chanel, Galliano and Isabel Marant — and featured in adverts for products including Diet Coke.

But after 10 years in the business she got “bored” and decided to give it up to pursue her love of food and wine, working at Michelin-starred restaurants Arbutus, in Soho, and Wild Honey in Mayfair.

She said: “I worked as a maître d’ and then I proposed to them that I go in the kitchen and train as a chef, but it didn’t work out for me. All this time I was going to wine tastings, learning about wine. I started my professional wine exams, getting experience in the industry in retail, supply, wholesale, then this year started to go freelance.

“Wine Car Boot is a bit of tasting, a bit of learning, a bit of discovering. Hopefully it’s a fun environment and will help break down barriers. Meeting the people who work in [wine] shops will help, because there are a lot of people who are intimidated to go into shops in case they say something wrong.”

Miss Spivey said travelling the world as a model fuelled her interest for food and wine, and she claimed that most models eat “fairly normally”.

She added: “I’d honestly say that in years of modelling, I’ve seen people who struggle with keeping their weight down, but for the most part most models eat fairly normally. You can still have an interest in food.”

If the first Wine Car Boot goes well she hopes to take it to car parks across London. It starts at midday. Tickets cost £15 and include first 10 tasting samples plus a glass and wine carrier.